Advice From Walmart Exec At Center Of Scandal: ‘Personal Integrity’ Is Key

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In a 7,000-word blockbuster Sunday, The New York Times reported that Walmart allegedly engaged in a vast campaign of bribery to expand the company’s Mexico business in the early 2000s, potentially violating U.S. law. The scheme was allegedly overseen by a Walmart executive, Eduardo Castro-Wright, described by The Times as “the driving force behind years of bribery” totaling millions of dollars.

Three years ago, Castro-Wright himself gave an interview to The Times in which he offered a somewhat different picture of his leadership style.

Castro-Wright sat for an interview in 2009 as part of The Times’ “Corner Office” series in which top executives talk “about leadership and management.” The Times asked Castro-Wright: “What message would you convey in a commencement speech?” He responded:

“Here in the United States, and any of the developed countries, I would tend to provide a speech along the lines of what I said before about what makes great leaders — the fact that there’s no leader who can be called one if they don’t have personal integrity, or if they don’t deliver results, or if they don’t care about the people they lead, or if they don’t have a passion for winning.”

Asked about the “most important leadership lesson” he’d learned in his career, Castro-Wright emphasized trust:

“There’s nothing that destroys credibility more than not being able to look someone in the eye and have them know that they can trust you. Leadership is about trust. It’s about being able to get people to go to places they never thought they could go. They can’t do that if they don’t trust you.”